The present invention relates generally to material moving equipment such as, for example, a grader, but can also be used with snow plows, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to side wing attachment assemblies for moldboards or grader blades that, when in place, form a material moving pocket used for containment of material being moved, or to direct the material being moved.
There exists a variety of attachments to moldboards or grader blades that form, with the material moving (forward facing) surface of the moldboard, a pocket or cavity that operates to contain and/or direct material being moved. While certain of these attachments are capable of being repositioned to modify the pocket or directional surfaces so formed (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,988,831, 3,055,126, 4,208,812), none of these attachments permit any type of repositioning to take into consideration a changed attitude of the material moving surface of the moldboard, relative to the ground surface. For example, certain of these attachments form walls that extend from the ends of the moldboard, forming a pocket with the material (forward) surface of the moldboard. It is often desired to roll the moldboard about its longitudinal (horizontal) axis, in order to reposition the material moving surface of the moldboard (relative to ground surface) for greater or less ground surface penetration and/or to increase or decrease the ability of the moldboard to move material (e.g., earth). Such reorientation of the moldboard, often called "blade tilt," is frequently used for feathering material to obtain more ground penetration, as well as to permit operator viewing of the moldboard edge. When the moldboard includes side wing attachments of the type presently known, such wing attachments must be either removed or moved out of the way in some fashion when the moldboard is rolled forward on its axis, because the cutting edge of the wing member cannot be readily adjusted to accommodate the new orientation of moldboard material-moving surface. I such wing attachments are not moved or removed when the attitude of the moldboard is changed, the cutting edge of the attachment can dig too deep into the ground surface.
Further, it is often desirable to modify the pocket formed by the moldboard material moving surface and one or a pair of such wing attachments by repositioning the wing member attachment relative to the moldboard surface. Unfortunately, even if accommodated in the design of the wing member, this often requires manual movement away from or toward a vertical edge of the moldboard, a time consuming effort.